Packaging-machine for toothpicks and similar articles.



C. P. ER & W. L. GUILD.

PACKAGING MACHINE FOR TOOTHPICKS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1915.

1,203,129. Patented Oct. 31,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

C; P. MCKER & W. L. GUILD. PACKAGING MACHINE FOR TOOTHPICKS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.22,1915. 1,203,129. Patented 0G1]. 31,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 m: NOMK'S PEIFRS co.. PHOTD urnm wnum'umm a c UNITED sra'r 1 1 res.

CHARLES r. Brenna Ann wln'rnnor L. GUILD, or :orxrrnrn, MAINE, nssrenons T0 DIXEIELID TQOTHPIGK COMPANY, or DIXFIE'LD, MAINE, A conrona'rron or MAINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 31, 1916.

Application filed November 22, 1915. Serial No. 62,762.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES P. RICKER and VINTHROP L. GUILD, citizens of the United States, and residents of Dixfield, in the county of Oxford and State of Maine, have invented new and useful Improvements in, Packaging-Machines for Toothpicks and Similar Articles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for packaging toothpicks and similar vartlcles, and more particularly to the provis on of efficient meansin such machines for receiving the toothpicks or other articles according to the common practice in a confused mass, and quickly and accurately arrangmg them in the required position for boxing, 6., in substantial parallelism with their ends in the same vertical plane, and passing them on in this position for actualboxing, whether such boxin be performed manually or by suitable mechanism. I

Referring to the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the inventiom Figure l is a front view of our improved machine; and Fig. 2 is a side View thereof.

A is a hopper, preferably of the form shown, havingan. open top anda restricted delivery opening a/ in its bottom of slightly greater length than that of the articlesbeing operated upon. The front A" is of transparent material, preferably glass, and 1s re- .inQvably secured as by bolts B, having nuts B, passing through the projecting ends of straps C on the side walls of the hopper,

Preferably cushions D'of felt or other suitable material are located between the edges of thefront A and theistraps C to prevent chipping or breaking of the glass by reason of thejarring of the hopper hereinafter described. Mounted in said hopper A are a plurality of movable partition walls E, preferably of sheet metal, dividing the hopper into, a plurality of compartments. One or more of the saidpartition wallsE is secured to the back wall of the hopper, near the top thereof in any suitable manner, as by plugs S (Fig. 1 rigidly mounted on said back wall and having grooves into which the said partitions fit. Shelves .or ledges F are secured to each of such partition walls and also to the side walls of the hopper, so that each compartment has a series of shelves or ledges extending therein andarranged in staggered relation. I

Gris a support adapted to be secured to the machine frame having forwardly extending firms G provided with substantially flat top faces G Fast on the back of the hopper A is a strap H having forwardly extending arms H pivotally secured to the arms G of the support G in any suitable manner, as by pintles I. Preferably each of such arms G" has a socket or recess J adapted to receive a spring K, one end of which bears agalnst the pintle I thus cushioning and. preventing the breaklngof said p ntles by the jarring of said hopper. The said arms H are provided with lateral flanges H extending over the tops G of the arms G, and said flanges are provided at or near each end with a stop or projection L, preferably in the form of set screws as shown, which pass through said flanges and project from their lower faces.

The operation is as follows: Any suitable mechanism such as an eccentric and its connections shown in Fig. 1., rocks the hopper A on its pintles I. This rocking movement is not only short and sharp but the rapid impact of the projections L on the faces G? results in a very considerable jarring of the hopper each time a pair of projections strikes said faces. The toothpicks or other articles are fed into the open top of the hopper in a confused mass and fall onto the uppermost ledges or shelves F. Because of the jarring and rapid backward and forward movement of the hopper in the direction of the length of the toothpicks, which causes them to strike. alternately against its front and back, the mass falls in a zig-zag path from one ledge to another, the individual toothpicks being brought into closely packed parallelism. with their ends in the same verdering the machine partly or wholly inop-.

erative until the mass can again be started downward. To obviate this difficulty a bar M is provided, connected with the partitions E which are secured to the back wall of the hopper by connections M passing through slots (4 in said back wall below the point at which said partitions are secured to said back. Links N and N connect said bar with a lever O pivoted on the support G. W hen the downward movement of the mass is arrested for the reason above described, the operator observing the difficulty through the transparent front, swings the lever O rapidly from side to side, and this movement being communicated to the movable partitions E shakes the mass within the hopper, bringing the broken toothpick or the like into proper position so that the mass may again move downward. In some instances of stoppage of the movement of the mass by reason of a broken toothpick or the like, it is desirable to insert a suitable instrument directly into the hopper to bring a particular toothpick into proper alinement. For this purpose the walls of the hopper are provided with a series of apertures A as best shown in Fig. 1, opposite the several spaces between shelves through which a suitable instrument may be readily inserted directly into the mass.

Our improved machine above described is simple in construction and operation, and it has proved in service a most efficient means for assembling toothpicks and similar light wooden articles in proper position to be passed on to the measuring and boxing apparatus.

We claim:

1. In a device of the class described, means for arranging articles massed at random comprising a hopper having front and back walls, partitions from Wall to wall in said hopper adapted to determine a zig-zag path for articles falling through the hopper, means for oscillating the hopper in a direction angular to said walls, and means for violently stopping motion of said hopper in each direction, whereby articles falling through said hopper are thrown violently and repeatedly against each wall.

2. In a device of the class described, means for arranging articles massed at random comprising a vertical hopper having front and back walls diverging toward the top, partitions from wall to wall in said hopper adapted to determine a zig-zag path for articles falling through the hopper, means for oscillating the hopper in a direction angular to said walls, and means for violently stopping motion of said hopper in each direction, whereby articles falling through said hopper are thrown violently and repeatedly against each wall and brought into parallelism in a mass little thicker than the length of each article.

' 3. A machine of the class described, comprising a frame, a hopper through which the material operated upon progresses under gravity, arms connected with said hopper and pivotally secured to said frame all on a common axis, and means to rock said hopper in directions transverse to the progress of the material, said arms having projections adapted, upon the rocking of said hopper, to engage said frame at the ends of each rocking motion, whereby to jar said hopper in a direction transverse to the progress of the material.

4. A machine of the class described, comprising a frame, a hopper, arms connected with said hopper, a pair of pintles passing through said frame and arms and having movable bearings, means to rock said hopper, said arms adapted upon the rocking of said hopper to engage said frame.

5. A machine of the class described, comprising a frame, a hopper, arms connected with said hopper, a pair of pintles passing through said frame and arms, having movable bearings and cushioned against jar, means to rock said hopper, said arms adapted upon the rocking of said hopper to engage said frame.

6. A machine of the class described, comprising a frame, a hopper, arms connected with said hopper, a pair of pintles passing through said frame and arms whereby said hopper is pivotally mounted on said frame, recesses in said frame, springs in said recesses and engaging said pintles, means to rock said hopper, said arms adapted upon the rocking of said hopper to engage said frame.

7 A machine of the class described, comprising a frame, a hopper, arms connected with said hopper, a pair of pintles passing through said frame and arms whereby said hopper is pivotally mounted on said frame, recess in said frame, springs in said recesses and engaging said pintles, means to rock said hopper, and said arms having projections adapted upon the rocking of said hopper to engage said frame.

8. A machine of the class described, comprising a frame having forwardly extending arms, a hopper having arms pivoted to said frame arms, whereby said hopper is pivot ally mounted on said frame, means to rock said hopper and said hopper arms having flanges extending over said frame arms and provided with projections near each end thereof adapted upon the rocking of said hopper to engage said frame arms.

9. A machine of the class described comprising a frame, a hopper pivoted on said frame and having a glass front, means connected with the opposite side walls of said hopper and engaging said front removably to secure said front in operative position, cushions between said securing means and said front, means to rock said hopper, and means to jar said hopper during the rocking thereof. 7

10. A machine of the class described comprising a frame, a hopper mounted on said frame and having a movable partition dividing it into compartments having shelves arranged in staggered relation therein, means to rock said hopper, and means operable independently of said rocking means to move said partition from side to side.

11. A machine of the class described comprising a frame, a hopper mounted on said frame and having a movable partition dividing it into compartments having shelves arranged in staggered relation therein, means to rock said hopper, and means operable independently of said rocking means comprising a pivoted lever and connections between said lever and said partition to move said partition from side to side.

Signed by us at Dixfield, Maine, this eighteenth (18) day of November, 1915.

CHARLES P. RICKER. WINTHROP L. GUILD. itnesses BLANOHE BISHOP, FRANK H. GILGREAS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, .D. 0. 

